Teacher named in teen sex case

Andrew Loader. Photo / Supplied

A senior Tauranga teacher facing a charge under the Prostitution Reform Act has lost his bid to keep his identity secret.

Andrew Loader, 49, is accused of paying a 16-year-old girl to perform sexual services for him.

Loader faces one representative count of receiving commercial sexual services from the teenager.

The offences, which are laid under the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, are alleged to have occurred on two separate occasions in Tauranga this month.

Loader appeared before Community Magistrate Robyn Paterson in Tauranga Community Magistrates' Court yesterday

His lawyer, Craig Horsley, argued name and occupation suppression orders should remain in place as publication would cause extreme hardship to his client and seriously impact on the school, which was an innocent party caught up in the allegations.

Mr Horsley said the allegations against Loader were not employment related as they related to alleged offending outside school, and there was no risk to anyone at the school nor potentially other alleged victims which needed to be protected.

There was a real risk of Loader losing his employment and significant impact on the school if publication was allowed, he said.

Police remained neutral on the suppression application.

The Bay of Plenty Times argued the suppression order should be lifted as it was a matter of public interest and the public had a right to know Loader's identity on the grounds of open justice.

Mrs Paterson agreed.

She said the issue of name suppression was a "very finely balanced" matter, and the court not only had to take into consideration extreme hardship but the interests of the public, the freedom of the press, and the expectation that there will be openness in the justice process.

"Suppression is something which is applicable rarely rather than commonly and in this case I am satisfied that Mr Loader's name and occupation should not be suppressed," she said.

However, Mrs Paterson said the name of the school where Loader worked would remain suppressed on an interim basis to enable school authorities to make further representations if they wished.

Loader, who is yet to plead to the charge, was further remanded on bail to re-appear in Tauranga District Court on January 14 for a judicial intervention hearing.

Outside court, the principal at the school where Loader worked told the Bay of Plenty Times that as a result of the allegations it had been mutually agreed between the school and Loader that he would not be returning to the school.

The principal, who cannot be named, said once the allegations came to light he responded as per the conditions laid down by the Employee Employment Agreement and also contacted the New Zealand Teachers Council, which is currently investigating the matter.
"I want to assure the community that at this stage, as I far as I am aware, no student at this school was put at risk," he said.

The principal said he would not be commenting further.

A media spokesperson at the Teachers Council said last night they were not in position to comment about the investigation at this stage.